Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, said Tuesday that a Greensboro day care owned by his wife never had any bad reports from the state.
The Department of Health and Human Services, however, indicated that the Precious Beginnings Child Development Center attempted to falsify information starting in 2005.
Robinson helped his wife, Yolanda Robinson, run the day-care center, which they later sold.
In Nov. 2005, DHHS wrote in a report that a false training certificate was on file for a staff member.
It said: “The operator made attempts to falsify information. A ‘false’ BSAC training certificate was on file for a staff [member] who works with school age children.”
Two years later, the department said that the Robinsons had produced credentials allowing them to operate the center — even though the state had no record of issuing them. That was also the case with documents the center presented showing the completion of criminal background checks.
A June 2007 report said: “Files for the owner and the husband of the owner contain North Carolina Early Childhood Credential Certificates when the Work Force Unit of the Division of Child Development does not have record of having issued credentials. Additionally, Criminal Records Qualifying letters are on file for the owner and the husband of the owner. The Criminal Records Unit of the Division does not have record of having ever received criminal records forms nor issuing qualifying letters to you or your husband.”
The state said it might terminate the day care’s ability to operate if the problems weren’t fixed.
Yolanda Robinson sold the center in 2007.
The News & Observer first reported on the documents last week.
Robinson spoke at an event for Latinos in Charlotte on Tuesday. WFAE asked him about the DHHS reports.
He denied there were any problems with the day-care center and said “people are slinging mud at the wall.”
“There were no falsified documents, nothing nefarious,” he said. “We simply sold it because my wife got burned out and decided to move on and do something else.”
When asked again about the DHHS documents, Robinson said it didn’t happen.
“No, we didn’t have any bad reports on our day care,” he said.
After that, a member of Robinson’s campaign stopped the line of questioning and referred questions to a campaign spokesperson, Mike Lonergen.
Lonergen described the report as "a Democrat oppo dump” and said it’s “just another attempt by the left to dig up old news instead of addressing the massive failures of Joe Biden, who is clearly unfit for office, and his top North Carolina cheerleader Josh Stein.”
Lonergen said focusing on the 2005 and 2007 reports is “cherry-picking a few minor violations and clerical errors.” He said it ignores “superior” ratings the day care also received.
“The voters of North Carolina need leaders that will address the problems facing them every day – like rising violent crime, a massive border crisis, inflation and more – and have more important things to worry about than the latest Democrat smear,” Lonergan said.
